


darling, am i a chore?

by celestialfics



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, anxious yamaguchi, caring Tsukishima, comfort in kei's own way, kei's a softie for yams what's new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 12:28:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7844971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialfics/pseuds/celestialfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamaguchi calls Kei at three in the morning, and Kei knows he shouldn’t care. He shouldn’t care, but for a moment he doesn’t think about what he should or shouldn’t do, because it’s Yamaguchi. And Yamaguchi is always an exception, for reasons Kei doesn’t quite understand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	darling, am i a chore?

**Author's Note:**

> i'm very passionate about tsuk caring for yams in his own way

+

_you think, you ask_   
_you say "darling, am i a chore?"_   
  
_i say i know you love me, i am loving you more_

[giants](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xadxu7tZJrg), bear hands

+

 

Kei groaned as his phone sounded from where it sat on the table beside his bed, waking him from his slumber. He blinked at the bright screen, irritated; he couldn’t think of any reason in the world why someone would be calling at three in the morning.

And, well, it wasn’t just _someone_. It was Yamaguchi.

Crinkling his nose, Kei answered the call groggily: “Hello?”

“Hi, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi spoke quietly, tentatively, and Kei could hear him sigh into the receiver.

“Why did you call,” Kei stated flatly rather than questioned, but Kei knew that fact didn’t bother Yamaguchi.

“Ehh,” Yamaguchi hesitated, as if he weren’t sure whether to speak or not, before spouting a usual: “It’s—I’m sorry, Tsukki.”

“No.” Kei furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He was sure that if this call had taken place a few hours in the future he could’ve handled it better, as his mind was very much still asleep. “What?”

“I was just saying I’m sorry for waking you—”

“Stop that,” Kei cut him off, turning on his side and pressing his phone to his opposite ear. “Why did you call?”

The line was silent aside from Yamaguchi’s breathing, which Kei noticed was heavier than normal.

“Are you okay?” Kei pressed, though he wasn’t one for pressing in this type of situation. But, sometimes Yamaguchi needed it. “Did something happen?”

“I…” Yamaguchi started, but stopped before another word came through the speaker.

Kei sighed, deciding not to push any further. He’d already gone further than he deemed acceptable, but this was Yamaguchi. And sometimes Yamaguchi needed it.

Nothing came through the speaker for a long while, but Kei didn’t hang up. He held the phone up to his ear and waited, though he swore Yamaguchi was the only one he’d do this for. He probably wouldn’t have even picked up if the Caller ID read a different name. The realization made Kei shiver and tempted him to hang up the phone, but he held out against the impulse. Yamaguchi had called him at _three in the morning_ , and that warranted some curiosity. Or at least curiosity was his excuse.

“Tsukki…? Still there?” Yamaguchi’s voice was soft—cautious, even.

“Mhm,” Kei hummed, though he wasn’t sure if the speaker caught the sound so he reiterated, “Yeah. I’m here.”

“I had… a nightmare,” Yamaguchi said, but he continued before Kei could think of how to reply. “This sounds really dumb, but… Nevermind. Yeah, sorry.”

“It’s not dumb,” Kei responded without thought, and paused before he elaborated. “If it affected you, it’s not dumb.” He almost prompted Yamaguchi to talk about it, but he’d already done enough prompting for the night.

“Eh, uh.” Kei imagined Yamaguchi scratching the back of his neck. “The nightmare part wasn’t the dumb part.”

“Mm.” Kei made the sound so Yamaguchi would know he’d heard.

“I just… really needed to,” he stopped, taking a deep breath, “I needed to hear your voice.”

Silence hung between them, between the miles they were apart and between the phone lines.

“I’m—I’m sorry. That’s weird,” Yamaguchi quickly began to cover what he’d said. “I’m really sorry, Tsukki. I’m gonna… I’m gonna hang up now.”

“Yamaguchi,” Kei said as the line cut out. _“It’s okay”_ was left unspoken.

He cursed internally before calling Yamaguchi back without thinking about the actions. The dial tone was playing in his ears when he actually realized what he was doing; which, weird. Okay. Kei didn’t ever call _back_. But it was _three in the morning_ , and it was _Yamaguchi_ , and the entire situation was a bit out of whack. He supposed two of those things were excuses.

Yamaguchi answered the phone after Kei had waited two dial tones: “Tsukki?”

“Hey,” he breathed into the phone, swallowing thickly thereafter. “Um, do you want to talk about your dream?” Again, with the prompting that Kei hated so much. If people had things to say, he thought, they should just say them.

“No,” Yamaguchi replied lowly. “Not really.”

“Hm,” Kei sighed, “okay.”

“I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“No, it’s okay.” Kei rolled onto his back, staring up at his ceiling, though he couldn’t very well see it in the dark, with or without his glasses.

They both ignored what Yamaguchi had said earlier, though Kei was reluctant.

“You should go back to sleep, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said, heartfelt and selfless.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Kei questioned, and though sleep did seem very appealing at that point in time, Kei knew he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep without resolving any of this. Despite how much he tried not to care too much, he always got invested somehow. Kei supposed he wasn’t destined to be an emotionless asshole, though he wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Maybe it was like how not thinking about something was the same as thinking about it. The harder he tried _not_ to care, the more he would in the long run.

“I’ll… try, yeah.”

Yamaguchi was lying, that much was obvious to Kei. But he didn’t press, didn’t want to press.

“Before you hang up,” Kei spoke surely, not wanting Yamaguchi to act weird about anything later. “What you said before… it’s okay. Don’t be embarrassed.”

“I—uh, okay. Thanks, Tsukki.”

“Yeah. Try to sleep.”

Kei waited for Yamaguchi to end the call, but he didn’t seem eager.

“Um, Tsukki?” _Unsure, unsure_.

“I’m still here.”

“Can we… not hang up?”

“Yeah,” Kei said, “That’s fine.”

There was a beat of silence, and Kei thought for a moment that Yamaguchi might’ve panicked and ended the call in the split second before Kei had replied.

“Thanks,” he voiced, disproving Kei’s thoughts.

Kei set the phone on the pillow next to his head so he wouldn’t have to hold it any longer, but it was still close enough that if Yamaguchi spoke, Kei would hear it.

But Yamaguchi didn’t speak, at least not before Kei fell asleep.

* * *

 

Kei woke to his alarm with a bit of a headache, but that wasn’t unusual. He had a bottle of pain relief pills beside his bed, and he poured two out of the bottle before he realized the only thing he had to take them with was a quarter full glass of water from the night prior. Grimacing slightly, Kei put the pills in his mouth and tilted the glass of stale water back, downing both pills in one swallow. Kei shivered a bit as he swallowed, but then he proceeded to grab his glasses from the table and slide them onto his face. Furrowing his eyebrows at the realization that his phone wasn’t on the nightstand, Kei pushed up his glasses for a moment to rub at his eyes.

He blinked twice before he recalled the events of earlier that morning. Lowering his glasses back over his eyes, Kei looked to his pillow, where he last remembered setting his phone. The device had moved a bit, and Kei figured he must’ve nudged it in his sleep. As he picked it up, however, he was surprised to see that his and Yamaguchi’s call still hadn’t been disconnected. The call duration was over three hours.

While he could’ve just ended the call when he noticed it was ongoing and Yamaguchi wouldn’t have minded, Kei still found himself bringing the phone up to his ear.

“Uh, Yamaguchi?” he spoke into the phone, not expecting a response. “I have to get ready now, so… I’m gonna hang up.”

“Mm, okay, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi’s response was bleary, and Kei wondered if the boy on the other side of the line was even actually conscious.

Kei hesitated before he hit the red button to end the call, though after he did he just thought about how glad he was that his phone plan had unlimited call time. (And maybe he thought about how glad he was that it seemed like Yamaguchi got some sleep.)

* * *

 

Yamaguchi looked fine when the pair met up at their usual spot to walk to school together, so Kei wasn’t worried. He figured Yamaguchi had a nightmare where something happened to Kei, probably, and he just wanted to make sure Kei was alright. Or something like that. It all happened at three in the morning and it was no big deal.

They walked in comfortable silence, their strides naturally synchronizing. Everything was normal, familiar. They were in charted territory.

Until Yamaguchi tripped and fell they were, at least.

Kei’s reflexes weren’t quick enough to save Yamaguchi from the fall, though Kei did manage to snatch onto Yamaguchi’s uniform sleeve, lightening the fall at least a touch.

Yamaguchi was quick to sit himself up, rubbing at his forehead with the heel of his hand. Kei squatted next to him, tilting his head to get a look at Yamaguchi’s face.

“Your nose,” Kei stated, “It’s bleeding.”

“Oh.” Yamaguchi was dazed, so much Kei could tell.

After digging through his sports bag for something Yamaguchi could hold to his nose, Kei handed Yamaguchi one of his knee pads.

The look on Yamaguchi’s face said “are you sure?” and Kei just nodded in response. Reluctantly taking the black knee pad, Yamaguchi nodded his thanks to Kei.

“I’m really sorry,” Yamaguchi said, though his voice was somewhat muffled through the cloth.

“I can wash it,” Kei shrugged, “or get a new pair. Don’t worry about it.”

Yamaguchi nodded, before explaining: “I just… didn’t get much sleep last night. I think when you said you were gonna hang up, I was just starting to fall asleep. But then I had to get up and get ready, so.” He tacked a nervous chuckle on the end.

“You were up the whole time?” Kei asked in disbelief.

“Ehh, yeah.” Yamaguchi scratched the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Go home,” Kei spoke, gesturing slightly back in the direction they had come. “Get some rest. I’ll tell the others that you aren’t feeling well.”

“I—I dunno,” Yamaguchi stuttered, glancing back to where Kei had gestured.

“I’ll walk you. C’mon,” Kei said as he offered his hand to Yamaguchi to help him get to his feet.

“You’ll be late!” Yamaguchi attested, though he took Kei’s hand and hauled himself up.

“Stop worrying about me,” Kei commanded, and their hands were still clasped for a moment before both of them let go. “You didn’t get enough sleep and now you’re bleeding, and I’m fine. So quit it.”

“Okay. Okay. Thanks, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi sighed, adjusting the knee pad that he held to his nose.

“Yeah,” Kei replied, and they began to walk back towards home.

The walk back to Yamaguchi’s house was just as quiet as their walk halfway to school, though Yamaguchi’s feet were dragging this time around, and sometimes he sniffled.

By the time they did reach Yamaguchi’s house, his bleeding had stopped. When Yamaguchi approached the door, he turned around to look at Kei who stood behind him.

“Thanks for walking me,” he said, his hand on the doorknob.

“I’m coming in,” Kei replied. “You need to get cleaned up.” He looked pointedly at the scrapes on his forehead, hands, and elbows.

“I can—” Yamaguchi stopped himself and opened the door, inviting Kei inside.

They ended up in the bathroom with Yamaguchi sitting on the bathtub ledge and Kei running the tap until the water turned warm. As soon as it was warm enough, Kei stuck a washcloth under the stream and thereafter rang it out, handing the now damp, lukewarm cloth over to Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi proceeded to press the cloth against the abrasion on his forehead, though he gasped softly at the contact.

“Stings…” he explained as Kei looked down at him.

Yamaguchi then stood to look at himself in the mirror as he wiped the dried blood off of underneath his nose. “This is kind of embarrassing.” he laughed, bringing the cloth to one of his scraped elbows.

“I can leave, if you want,” Kei offered, making eye-contact with Yamaguchi through the mirror.

“No,” he replied immediately, but grimaced, “I meant, you can leave, if _you_ want. You’re already going to be late…”

“I don’t care about that,” Kei responded, holding his gaze steady, even when Yamaguchi looked away, down at his injuries. And really, Kei didn’t care about being late. He didn’t especially _want_ to care about Yamaguchi getting some sleep, but here he was, caring.

After Yamaguchi had finished with the washrag, he hung it on a rack to dry.

“I suppose I’m going to sleep, now…” Yamaguchi trailed, his eyes trained on Kei’s.

There was no longer any excuse for Kei not to leave and head off to school, so he lifted the strap of his bag over his shoulder. He nodded his goodbye to Yamaguchi before turning around to leave.

“Actually,” Yamaguchi spoke and Kei stopped in his tracks, looking back at Yamaguchi over his shoulder. He looked like he was holding his breath. “Would you mind… staying?”

Kei blinked at Yamaguchi, before turning around and seeing that Yamaguchi’s face was flushed. They both began to speak at the same time.

“I wouldn’t—”

“I mean, you don’t—” Yamaguchi stopped, “You go.”

“I wouldn’t mind staying,” Kei finished his statement, pushing up his glasses.

“Really?” Yamaguchi said out of habit, and Kei just nodded at him in response. “You don’t have to—”

“I’ll stay until you fall asleep,” Kei stated, before tacking on, “if that’s what you want.”

“Yeah,” Yamaguchi breathed. “Thanks, Tsukki.”

Kei followed Yamaguchi into his bedroom, and while Yamaguchi lied on the bed, Kei sat next to it, leaning his back against the side of the mattress. Whatever nightmare Yamaguchi had had that night prior, it’d really shaken him up, Kei thought.

They sat quietly for awhile, Kei resting his head on the mattress and looking up at the ceiling while Yamaguchi lied on his side, presumably trying to sleep. Every once in awhile, Kei would turn and look back at Yamaguchi to check if he’d fallen asleep. So far, every time he’d done that, Yamaguchi’s eyes were still open, and he smiled guiltily at Kei before Kei shrugged and turned back around.

“Hey,” Yamaguchi eventually spoke up, his voice pensive.

“Hmm?” Kei tilted his head back so he was looking at Yamaguchi upside down.

“I was just… wondering,” he started, “Does it bother you when I call you ‘Tsukki’?”

“Why are you asking?” Kei deadpanned, again looking forward.

“I heard you tell the Fukurodani and Nekoma captains to stop calling you it, so I didn’t know if you wanted me to stop, too,” Yamaguchi explained, pulling his blanket up over his nose to try to hide his embarrassment.

“That’s different.” Kei said. He didn’t know why exactly it was different, but it was. He was _Yamaguchi_.

“It is?” Yamaguchi questioned carefully.

“Yeah.”

“Oh,” breathed Yamaguchi, and he sat quietly only for a moment before he inquired: “Why?”

Kei hesitated. He looked down at his fingers, which were laced together. “You’re Yamaguchi,” he finally said.

“Ah.”

Things were quiet again. Kei didn’t mind the quiet, but he could practically feel waves of anxious energy pouring off of Yamaguchi, so he turned around and sat on his feet, his ankles crossed under him and his knees pressed to the floor. He set his chin on the edge of the bed, making eye-contact with Yamaguchi.

“What are you thinking?” Kei asked, and Yamaguchi visibly swallowed thickly.

“I can’t… I can’t tell you,” Yamaguchi replied, looking away from Kei.

“You can,” Kei assured.

“Uh,” Yamaguchi took a deep breath. “I was just thinking… You probably think I’m pretty annoying, don’t you? I mean, calling you at three in the morning and tripping and getting all bloody, that’s not a pretty sight. And then you had to walk me home and I made you stay and I just… You must think I’m annoying. _I_ think I’m annoying.”

“Yamaguchi,” Kei spoke, and he wasn’t sure he knew his voice could sound so  _soft_. What in the world was Yamaguchi doing to him? “I don’t think you’re annoying.”

“You _say_ that, but—”

“I say it because I mean it.” Kei cut him off. “I didn’t answer the phone last night because I _had_ to. I didn’t walk you home because I _had_ to. I’m not here right now because I _have_ to be.”

Words unsaid hung in the air, and Kei turned back around, leaning on the side of the mattress once again. He’d surely said enough.

“Thank you,” Yamaguchi finally said, though the sound was muffled by his blanket.

“Yeah. Get some sleep.”

Kei was _planning_ on leaving once Yamaguchi fell asleep, but somehow he’d too fallen asleep with his head resting on Yamaguchi’s bed. And though he’d awoken before his friend, he still didn’t want to leave. He swore it just because he was lazy and couldn’t be bothered to go anywhere, but that was an excuse. So, Kei hauled himself up onto Yamaguchi’s bed beside him, lying on his back and looking at the ceiling before closing his eyes. Not much time passed before Yamaguchi unconsciously wrapped his arms around Kei’s torso, but Kei wasn’t bothered. This was Yamaguchi, and Kei really loved him, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this all in a day and i'm so glad. tsukyam motivates me like no other


End file.
